Jane and The Titanic

My name is Jane Walsh and I am fourteen years old. Soon, my family and I going to the new Titanic. It’s a new ship that’s unsinkable!! My family has a first class standard, and that is what we will be on the ship.

My grandfather used to be an accountant, but he perished in 1902. My family inherited the money and our standard of first class.

This will be the ship’s maiden voyage, it has three ginormous propellers and four funnels, so I am told.

My family live in Southampton, an hours carriage ride from the docks. I can picture it now: Rich and gold ornaments, silk bed covers, food that people would die for, and being treated like royalty.

We are going in a few days time as the ship leaves on the tenth of April.

We are going to be living in New Jersey, a different state to New York (where we are going), but near. Father wants to make a new life, like lots of the Irish, but for a different reason. Life seems a lot easier in America, to us, and unfortunately my father is, dare I say,quite lazy.

Mother is making our maids fill our bags as fast as possible, since we have lots of things and only three days to pack. I think that it is plenty of time, but I do not want to disagree with mother. She has anger issues.

My brother, Peter, is only seven and I have to look after him like he is my own son!! The only thing that mother does for him is make sure the maids feed him and clothe him. Mother is much too busy, as father is lazy, like I said.

Macy Worthington is my maid, who is like a best friend to me, even though she is quite strict. But she is the only one I can talk to, apart from busy mother. Macy is twenty-eight, twenty-nine in August. Mother says that Macy is coming with us on the Titanic, but will be classed as second class. Macy should be classed as third class, as she is a servant and does not get paid much, but mother doesn’t want a maid who has been around any other third class apart from Macy’s family.

Oh, speaking of Macy, she just told me that dinner is ready and that I have to go now, otherwise she will give it to the horses in the stables. I do not want to let my food go to them, as they have their own food. Carrots.

It is now the day that the Titanic will be starting on it’s maiden voyage. Father has his, mother’s, Peter’s and my ticket. We get out of the carriage, the only one out of three that I can see. Either we are travelling the old fashioned way, or there are more horse and carriages to come.

We walk over to the boarding gates, where father gives the tickets to the ticket man. We follow father up the strong plank of material, up, and onto the boat. Or should I say ship. The Titanic is amazing. It is just like I had imagined! A long boat about a mile or so long, looking magnificent and bold, millions of people lining up to get on, many people who are on the boat waving to their friends and family, and obviously lots of friends and family of the people waving. It is a beautiful sight to see.

Now there is not as many people in line, and father says the boat is leaving soon.

“Father, how many people are on the boat?” Peter asks in his sweet seven year old voice.

“About two thousand.” Father replies, staring out at the sea of people, and then to the real sea. It is a dark blue colour.

I have only been to the sea once before. It was when father decided we should live like children, for once, and a good place to do that was the seaside. Peter had chickenpox at the time, but we played with a beach ball and I stayed at least a metre away from him at all times.

Something startles me from the flashback, and it is a horn. Then it comes to me that everyone is on the boat, we are leaving, and I’ll probably never see England again.

Tears form in my eyes, but I hold them back as we wave to nobody in particular. The boat slowly starts moving, and the water smoothly runs past the Titanic’s sides. As the families and friends become distant and unclear, mother suggested we go and find our room.

I take Peter’s hand, loosening my grip for a second, still thinking he had chickenpox, but then the present takes over again so I grip his hand firmly, but not too hard to hurt him. We follow mother and father to our new room. I look out at the deep, blue sea, knowing that it covers two thirds of the Earth.

At last, mother proves she has good eye sight like she keeps on saying and we have found our room. What she also hasn’t mentioned is that she has good map skills.

Silk lined bed covers lay on the mattresses of a four poster double bed and two big single beds. The walls are covered in a deep red, with maroon curtains on the posters of mother and father’s bed. A medium sized circular window has a pretty view of England. A very far away England.

The maids start to unpack for us, and we all decide to go to the restaurant to have a late breakfast. We go to the A La Carte Restaurant. It is very elegant, with the panels made of French walnut, and daisies and roses decorating the tables.

Mother orders food for Peter and I, so I don’t know what I am eating. It is like meat and vegetables, although I’m sure I heard something about a cow when the food was being ordered.